India announce probables for World Twenty20

In the absence of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, which was postponed for the second year in a row, performance in the IPL will be crucial for the 30 players selected in India's preliminary World Twenty20 squad for the tournament in England. The notable omissions were Sreesanth, Joginder Sharma, Ajit Agarkar and Piyush Chawla, who were part of the team that won the World Twenty20 in 2007.

The final squad of 15 to 16 players will be announced a month before the tournament begins on June 5. The IPL assumes significance because it ends on May 24, leaving little time for a camp before the players leave for England.

Sreesanth ruled himself out of the IPL due to a back injury and had recently admitted he would be out of action for at least three months. The selectors had always been skeptical once he struggled on his return to domestic cricket after sustaining an injury during last season's IPL. "He is a quality bowler when he is fit. I don't think he is fit," a selection committee source told Cricinfo.

There were no specific parameters that the selectors looked at when they prepared the 30-man short list. "We looked at performance and experience," the source said. Joginder, Agarkar and Chawla were left out because they did not impress during the domestic season.

The list contains no surprises with most players picking themselves due to their form in the current season. One exception could be Bengal fast bowler Ashok Dinda, a BCCI contracted player, who did not make the cut. "After the Challenger Trophy, Dinda has not bowled well. He remains a potential and that is why he is a contracted player," the source said.

Tamil Nadu offspinner R Ashwin was picked as a back-up to Harbhajan Singh after a successful domestic season where he was the leading wicket-taker in Challenger Trophy (eight wickets) and took two more in three Deodhar Trophy games.